Came here on a Sunday night for dinner. Seated right away. Server made a great recommendation to get the Calamtra (sp?). Pasta was the perfect level of al dente, with a delicious creamy tomato sauce to match. I'm from Jersey so I know that outside of NY/NJ it's hard to find good pasta but this is the place. Only downside was that our server asked us if we wanted flat or sparkling water and brought out a bottle of flat water but didn't tell us it was $6. Otherwise price is okay. But you're paying for what you get. Other than that would and will definitely go back. read more

My husband and I went to taverna for the first time last evening. We sat at the bar and we were served by Bill. He was so nice and so knowledgeable about the wine as well as the menu. The food was amazing and different from any other offerings in Newark. We will definitely be back. read more

Today is my birthday,we have already ordered a birthday cake,We have three people ,we just want to order 2 entrees,but the waiter seems not very happy and try to command us to order much more dishes,at last we order three entrees and 2 sides and one starter,it really means a lot for three people who are even not hungry.The waiter even ask us to order two same pasta,she even do not see what we have already ordered!Also I ask the waiter to have a pineapple juice,but I have another cup of water,she even did not ask me and take out my glass!Maybe she thinks I am a foreigner and even not hear what I say instead of hearing what my husband say!I am very angry with the attitude of this waitress! read more

Came to Newark for daughters school and found a fabulous place to have great ITALIAN food! All of my family had great meals from pasta to fish! Definitely a winner read more

I really want to love Taverna. The tiramisu is great, and I love Platinum Group's other restaurants, but it seems that every time I visit Taverna I am disappointed. My usual choice, the calamarata, is just okay compared to the Capers and Lemons version. The wait staff is attentive, however the relaxed ambiance is often sullied by a tyrannical manager running around like a mad man. read more

By far our favorite dinner spot when visiting the University of Delaware. Fantastic Italian cuisine, great service and amazing deserts. Not the cheapest in the area, but well worth it for a pleasurable dining experience. read more

mushroom pizza. wow. it was so good. perfect texture, a little crispy and charred from the wood oven. martini was good, but i've had better. my man had some sort of pasta and sausage dish which he attacked like he hadn't eaten in a year. seeing as he is a very picky eater and had no complaints that means we will be back. yummmmay. read more

We have been to Taverna three times since it has opened Main Street. The first two times we sat at the bar and had drinks and appertizers, we have different bar tenders and each were personable and did an excellent job. We went back a third time and had dinner with another couple, again we had an excellent experience. Our server gave the best description of the menu I have ever heard. The food was excellent as was the attentive service. I also have had the oppotunity to meet two different floor managers and both were personable and were doing an excellent job with staff and customer. We can't wait to celebrate my wife's birthday there this week. read more

Date night included a stop here for drinks, which turned into dinner. The place is upscale considering the other bars/restaurants on Main St. The service and drinks were good. They had a lot of tasty items on the menu. The polenta and beef was very good, as were their meatballs app and gnocci entree. The food was a bit salty. Other than that I'd come again for some drinks and apps. read more

We made reservations at Taverna for a graduation dinner. The manager was helpful with picking out selections. The food was delicious and everyone especially raved about the calamari. We even ordered a cake decorated for the occasion from them which was wonderful. The atmosphere was nice- not too loud so we could carry on conversation, and our server was nice and attentive. read more

lets start with positives - service was top notch, pizza was excellent, atmosphere good mediocre - remainder of menu. we got one pizza (excellent) and three entrees. entrees were ok just not up to level of the atmosphere, service or for what they cost. same with two apps we ordered read more

Food is great here but it's often difficult to get a table. We get annoyed that they don't take reservations for parties under 5...except for special unpublished occasions. Service is ok but not excellent. I'd recommend Iron Hill down the road for better service and actually available seating. read more

I love this place! They seem to have it dialed in here. The bar is fabulous, the food is amazing and even the staff was 5 star! The calamari was perfect, the salads we got were so good and the pork shank dish was delicous. The budino, a salted caramel pudding is so, so good - don't share. read more

excellent food and service. have the best pork sandwich we've ever tasted. the cannoloni is exceptional. and portion sizes are perfect.

We were there on a Sunday night. Service was rushed and not friendly. Chicken was awful.

Stopped here for wine and dine and got an order of meatballs. 2 meatballs and slice of bread for 6.00. They were really good but at 3.00 a meatball during an event it was pretty pricey. had a great white sparkling wine. Would probably come back for dinner to give it another shot. read more

Great ambiance from the design to the crowd. Even though it's in the middle of a college campus, a great place for intimate or business meals Food done oh so right! Pasta was al dente, braciole cleverly paired with polenta that had just a right amount of coconut. Dessert was light, salty, and sweet all at once (forgot the name, it started with letter B). Best thing: customer service! Thank you Brian for treating your customers well. This place gives me a reason to visit the dreaded college town read more

First time here & I must say its delicious! I love Italian food and it's hard to find authentic Italian food around here. The atmosphere was very calm & pleasant. Our waiter was great at explaining the menu/specials & held a great conversation. I will definitely come back. read more

I stopped by here for lunch with a small group. Fantastic coal oven pizza. Several good vegetarian options available.

Very good experience here. The food was delicious and the atmosphere and service were excellent. The mussels were great as well as the fresh pasta and braised beef. The sauce that came with the beef was a bit sweet and it unbalanced the dish a little as a whole but the polenta made up for it. We'll definitely go back. read more

Best Italian Restaurant I have been to in Newark. Original menu Items and very consistent.

Flavorful, fresh food prepared quickly even on a busy Friday night. I had the spinach ricotta agnolotti. It was amazing! Mushrooms, truffle oil, hint of lemon. Just about the best pasta dish I've ever had. The staff is friendly and attentive. We'll be back! read more

Interesting place... The food was pretty good, the pizza excellent, a nice wine list to go with a varied menu which contained decent imagination. What I don't get is the presence of some tallish 30something lady who did nothing but get in the way of the servers and delay the whole process for multiple tables! We sat and watched her yammer with our waiter thus holding him up then go across the room and do the same to others. Drop kick her and the place would run so much better! read more

After a bad experience at Taverna, I have gone back at least 4 times - the food has been excellent, great beer selection and friendly staff.

Amazing meals and even better service! I've dined here twice now, once for lunch and once for dinner, both meals were fantastic and punctuated with amazing service. Thanks for an amazing evening, I'm sure we'll be back soon. read more

This place has good food but it is waaaaaaay over priced for what you get. Nice atmosphere. Our service was decent but a little slow. Overall I would not go back because of the price. read more

Very nice vibe , sat at bar Ron was great. We had a great lunch. My chicken dish had onions which I can't eat. They made me a new order without onions gladly. Knowledgeable staff always attentive and great wine and drink selection. Will eat there again when in town. read more

I can't say enough great things about Taverna and their staff. I was in charge in arranging a last minute wedding dinner for over 20 people. We initially tried to make reservations at Capers and Lemons but they were booked up and graciously contacted their sister venue, Taverna, on our behalf. The general manager, Brian, called me back immediately and arranged two large tables for us and allowed us to bring in the wedding cake and even gave us serverware to use for the cake cutting. One of our servers, Dave, went above and beyond to give this rowdy last minute group of family the best service. The even split our checks for us which is usually unheard of for a group this size. The food was beyond amazing and their drinks were top notch (try the Fresca cocktail). So, kudos to Taverna for not only have delicious food, generous and amazing service, and really treating us well and rolling out the red carpet to make this such a special event for my family on such short notice. I can't wait to eat there again when I come back to visit Newark. read more

Slightly upscale compared to the college joints but nothing stuffy. Bartenders are great with conversation and recommendations on the menu. Never a bad meal here. Pizzas are good. Constructively the wine list can use some work; more and better choices in my opinion. And the braciole wasn't grandmas but that's a tall order. All in all one of the best spots in newark. read more

This place seems to be hit or miss. Love the ambience and atmosphere. Wait staff are fantastic. Food is either really great or bland and terrible. Have been there twice with the same result. Corzetti is wonderful but portion is a bit on the small side. Pork shank is really good but supposed to come with polenta and root veggies. It's served with about 2T of polenta and a few diced pieces of veggies. It's more a dinner of a giant piece of meat sans side dishes. Pappardelle ingredients just don't blend well. Doughnut desert is bland. Brussels sprout side dish drips with oil. read more

Had the most terrific experience at taverna last night!!! My friends and I had a great server and the food was excellent! Recommend the ahi tuna, pappardelle, calamari and artichoke appetizer. Can't wait to dine at this great restaurant again soon! read more

We were in town for a wedding over the weekend and found out about Taverna from the Courtyard Marriott driver. After a 3 plus hour drive, we were in need of a good drink and a fine meal, and we were absolutely thrilled with our decision. Our meal was 5 star and the service from Patrick and others was impeccable. We started with the whipped sweet ricotta with balsamic glaze served with delicious Italian bread. We used some of the dipping oil and it was heaven. We were informed that the swordfish special was brought in fresh and broken down that morning so, of course, I had to try it. Served in a fennel broth sauce, grilled asparagus and zucchini also home made tortelloni.... delicious! Cannelloni was killer good, home made pasta noodle overstuffed with chicken in a wonderful cream sauce. We finished with a banana semifreddo. Chef Mike had everything under control and the food all looked fabulous. Big shout out to Cami and Alex as hostesses, very friendly, warm and welcoming. Tell them Cindy and Frank sent you! A great dining experience and one of the top 5 meals I ever had. read more

My wife and had dinner here last week and had a really nice time. Good service and good food. She had the chicken marsala and I had the lasagna special. Both were very tasty and more than we could finish after having the calamari. We will definitely go back. read more

Tried to get reservations for 4 but got denied because they only take 5 or more. What a shame. Wont get my business ever now!!!!!! They must think they are top notch in Newark, Delaware. Wont last long if you wont take 4 people for reservations. Thats an easy 200 bucks in 1 hour. read more

Visited this restaurant for dinner today. Very disappointed. Food was too pricey and very very small portion. Mr friend ordered the Seafood Risotto. It has exactly 1 shrimp, 4 tiny mussels and 2 clams for the price of $22.00! This is outrages. I gave 2 stars cause the waiter was nice and good location. I ordered the steak fritters and I had only maybe 1 oz of beef and 6-7 strips of French fries for $24.00. For that price they should give at least some food to feed an adult. read more

I have dined at this restaurant many times and used to think it was very unique. However, I recently dined at a restaurant named Barbuzzo in Philadelphia which I later learned opened a few years before Taverna. Not only did the two restaurants have very similar decor down to the same linens and plateware, but they had several of the same menu items. Now for a place that prides itself on originality I think it's quite comical that they must have gotten many ideas from this other place - down to the chili oil and oregano served with pizzas and delicious budino. That aside, the food is always good and the service is always excellent. read more

Excellent Italian restaurant close to Delaware University. The chicken Pizza was really delicious which we shared for appetizer. Grilled shrimp entree was excellent. Went with family of 5 and all enjoyed it. Nice place to take student for dinner on special visit. If not looking for full blown formal dinner, could definitely come back just for the pizza too. Excellent service. read more

Food is good and service is excellent. The only thing I'd ask is for them to include a non-dairy option for coffee creamer (soy or almond milk). Also, maybe a vegan option or two on the menu? read more

kept hearing good things about this place. I didn't agree. Not the best food for me and overpriced in my opinion.

Excellent food! Great service. Took my daughter out for her birthday. First time at Taverna. We had a party of 4 with 4 different entrees ordered. Everybody was very impressed with quality and presentation! Highly recommend. Just a little pricey though. read more